Friday, May 26, 2017

Day 06 - Grondines-Deschampbeault to Sainte-Foy

71.1 km - Total so far 515.4 km

We planned a 7am departure after consulting the weather forecast last night, e.g., NNE winds 30 km/h gusting to 50. A quick check this morning gave us the same forecast at Environment Canada but the Weather Network data was better at 21 km/h with gusts to 42. How the numbers can be so different boggles the mind. We left on time and in the rain.It was not an easy ride with the low temperature, rain and wind. We broke the ride down into 10 to 12 km intervals and stopped often for coffee. It finally stopped raining at approximately 11:37 (I had just checked my watch as we followed le Chemin du Roy into Neuville).

One of many ancestral homes in Neuville

Your the proud owner of a lovely ancestral home with a magnificent view of theSt Lawrence River and someone with questionable taste builds across the road.

The house in question. Very difficult to capture how offensive this place looks.

Neuville was the first time that we felt as if we were in a different country. The main street is unusually narrow and lined on both sides with stone homes, many which are covered with 'crépi' giving them a solid white exterior. It was a pleasant and dry ride uphill through town. This place is well worth the detour, Wikipedia describes Neuville as 'picturesque' we could not agree more.We stopped at the start of the 'Corridor du Littoral' and decided that we would make it to Laval University and get a room for the night. There are no campgrounds within easy distance so we opted for the roof over the head option. We got ourselves a tiny room with two beds and all our gear. We should have made a video of how we got everything into the room. We ran into a single female cyclist who was headed to Vancouver.

Glad we ride wearing hiking shoes with no cleats. It was tough pushing the bicycles up hill

La Cote de Cap Rouge...another walk up a nasty hill

We have not yet finalized our destination for tomorrow. Let's just say that the serious hill climbing starts tomorrow so the distance may be less. We will keep you in suspense.It was a tough day but we made it through okay. Looking forward to tomorrow with no rain and an easterly wind to start changing to a tail wind in the late afternoon. Cyclists: La Route Verte and Chemin du Roy are well marked. The last camping we saw next to the route was Camping Legaré, just shy of Neuville (intersection of 138 and 365). Those of you with a keen eye will figure out that we stopped at a Metro Plus near Laval University. We went in to buy lottery tickets. The beer and munchies will have to wait another 11 days.44.18 miles - Total so far 320.25 miles